Robert Benz Plays Beethoven

[Todd]

Among the more obscure Beethoven sonata cycles, Robert Benz's has long been one that I was interested in hearing, yet I never felt compelled to seek it out on a regular basis.  (The opposite is the case for Robert Riefling's set, which I regularly search for online, for either a CD reissue or a complete LP set at an acceptable price/condition combination.)  From my searches of German and Japanese CD huts, Benz does not appear to have recorded anything else, or at least nothing else that remains in print, and I cannot recall coming across any reviews that extoll the virtues of Benz's playing and state that it rates with the best, or even second best.  Still, when I found that Amazon Germany had the set, I decided to buy.  The nine discs that comprise the set are the first I've bought in a long time that include the words ''Produced in Western Germany'' on some of the discs.  Started in the late 80s, the cycle took until the mid-90s complete.  The liner notes state that Mr Benz is (or was at the time) one of Germany's leading pianists, though I find the claim perhaps a bit exaggerated.  Whatever the case may be, once I found the set, I figured I might as well buy it and listen to it.

I decided to listen to volumes as presented rather than chronologically by work – too much CD swapping can be exhausting – so listening got underway with Op 31/2.  The opening arpeggio sounds darkly clean.  The pauses last just long enough.  The Allegro is fast, has nice dynamic contrasts, and benefits from weighty but not ponderous bass.  Benz highlights a few figures nicely.  The rolling left hand playing at the end of the movement sounds very fine.  The slightly quick Adagio sounds somewhat light and quite clear – no excess sustain pedal usage here – and very sensible.  The closing Allegretto is taut and punchy, has some nice bass, and some pungent, but not too much so, right hand playing, and excellent rhythm.  It's all very competently done.  Op 53 follows, and Benz opens the Allegro con brio at a just about right tempo, plays with ample energy, and varies dynamics nicely.  Rhythm is again excellent.  Some of the playing veers toward harshness in the loudest passages, but never quite offends the ear.  Benz plays the Introduzione at a sensible pace, plays with clean staccato, and expertly transitions to the Rondo.  Benz again opts for a nice tempo and plays with a high energy level and wide dynamics, but some of the louder passages here do become a bit harsh, though this serves to add a bit of edge to the playing.  Left and right hand playing remain incredibly easy to differentiate and follow separately, though.  Op 110 rounds out the disc.  Benz again adopts a sensible tempo in the opening movement, but the playing does not flow very well, sounding oddly stiff in a few passages.  Benz belts out the Allegro molto to good effect.  The Adagio is cleanly played, but sounds straight forward, and the Arioso, with the insistent accompaniment, offers little beauty or serenity.  The fugue ends up sounding comparatively better, benefiting from Benz's clear style and penchant for potent bass.  The return of the Arioso is pretty much like the first, and the repeated chords, played fast and aggressive here, build up nicely, but given the loud fortes and fortissimos in other playing elsewhere on the disc, sound a bit lacking.  The inverted fugue benefits from Benz's style, but the coda is among the bluntest I've heard.  The piece just stops.  This does not rate among my favorite Op 110 recordings.

The second disc opens with 2/2.  The opening Allegro vivace is quite good.  Swift, well articulated, energetic, with nice rhythmic flair, it's light and chipper.  The sound is a bit closer and drier than the first volume, and that may actually help.  The Largo is a bit on the quick side, which is fine, and much of the right hand playing is light and pointed, which makes the contrast with the hammered out climaxes all the more stark.  Both the Scherzo and Rondo display characteristics of the opening movement, and both come across as fun and snappy.  A satisfying performance.  27/2 follows.  The dry recording and the comparatively scant pedaling and clean articulation combine to create a clean but un-atmospheric, uninteresting, very Andante like Adagio sostenuto.  The Allegretto is quick and punchy, and the Presto agitato is quick and agitated, but here the sound hampers scale and Benz doesn't deliver the same power he does in other places.  Op 79 follows.  The Presto alla tedesca is predictably quick and energetic and snappy, the Andante a bit on the quick side but still at least reasonably effective, and the Vivace basically reflects the same traits as the opening movement.  Another decent/good performance.  Op 109 closes the disc.  The slightly drier sound allows Benz to play more quietly, more delicately, and in at least one place, to add a wonderful sounding accelerando.  That written, the movement as a whole isn't a success.  Something is missing.  The Prestissimo comes across as too restrained and feeble due to the sound, though it seems as though Benz did play with a bit more oomph.  Benz finally hits his stride in the last movement, which, aided by the recorded sound, comes across as intimate, and he achieves a transcendent, or something similar, sound.  It's good stuff, but the sonata as a whole is not a notable success, and the disc as a whole is mixed.

Disc three opens with sonata three, and here Benz's penchant for swift tempi and snappy rhythm result in an energetic Allegro con brio.  At times the music is pushed a bit too hard, but that's rare.  What's not rare is the extremely dry sound which robs the playing of dynamics and scale, but imbues it with immense clarity.  The Adagio also sounds dynamically constrained as a result, and it's about as expressionless a take as I can recall.  The Scherzo, not surprisingly, is quick and pointed and energetic, as is the super quick and light Allegro assai.  Op 13 follows, and here Benz plays with greater dynamic range, but the sound borders on overload in the loudest passages of the Grave, and Benz holds back in the Allegro, and at times the playing sounds thick.  The Adagio cantabile lacks a nice cantabile sound and sounds closer to an (uneventful) Allegretto in terms of tempo.  The Rondo is predictably swift and well articulated, but the louder passages end up sounding borderline ugly.  14/2 follows.  Benz keeps things light in the Allegro, but plays the Andante at a strikingly fast pace and turns the theme into a comical march.  The concluding Scherzo comes off better, with crisp, light playing.  27/1 closes the disc.  Benz's speedy staccato playing works nicely most of the time, but again, in the loudest passages, the sound becomes a bit unattractive, and Benz hammers out the coda.  It's moderately successful.  A so-so disc.

Disc four starts off with 10/2, and Benz plays with in his customary style for the most part, but the improved sound shows off dynamics much better.  Fortes are loud and a bit clangy, and Benz plays piano and pianissimo superbly.  He also deploys some unique pauses in the Allegro to good effect, and plays the coda is slightly heavy fashion.  The Allegretto is also pretty straight-forward except for the repeated use of longer than normal pauses, and a couple sustained chords.  The Presto, which taken a conventional pace, comes across as heavier than normal and has some exaggerated louder playing.  Still, not bad overall.  31/3 follows, and the sound is closer and less dynamic than for 10/2.  The opening chords sound brisk and clipped, and the Allegro moves forward with nice momentum, though the playing sounds a bit studied.  No quasi-improvisational outburst sounding playing here.  Benz also deploys a few extended pauses again, and he introduces a nice touch by briefly emphasizing left hand figures in a few passages.  The Scherzo bursts to life, and Benz plays the movement with well nigh perfect rhythm and a great sense of fun.  Benz plays the outer sections of the Menuetto with steady rhythm and a lyrical but firm delivery, with a more pointed middle section.  The Presto ends up sounding like a mashup of the first two movements, and works very well.  This is the highlight of the cycle to this point, and comparatively much better than 31/2.  Op 78 follows.  The first movement sounds nice enough, but most of the action is in the second movement, which displays some heavy-handedness at times, but at other times has some fantastically variegated piano to pianissimo playing.  I'm not sure the musical whole is especially satisfying, but some of the individual components sure are.  The disc ends with 101.  Benz opens the piece in light and slightly rushed – in a pleasant way – Allegretto.  It's intimate sounding, except for a couple harsh-ish loud passages.  The march is a brisk and crisp and potent.  The Adagio has a nice, desolate, Op 106-y slow movement thing going on, and the Presto is, perhaps, just a bit too quick, and very definitely sounds determined.  Benz's staccato lends very nice clarity to the playing, and the somewhat clangy passages come off well.  This is definitely comparatively better than 109 or 110, but it sounds more middle period heroic than late period.  Overall, a very good disc.

Disc 5 opens with 10/1.  The ascending arpeggios in the Allegro molto e con brio are paced nicely enough, and the entire movement has nice energy, but just kind of sounds there, though with small hints of metal.  The Adagio molto again sounds nice enough, with a few elongated pauses, and a nice degree of dynamic contrast.  The playing comes alive in the Prestissimo, which is taken at a peppy tempo, displays excellent dynamic contrasts, and snazzy clarity.  Decent overall.  Op 26 follows.  The theme is presented basically conventionally.  As the variations proceed, Benz sounds more compelling in the faster, snappier music than the slow music, and he never really lets the movement slow down.  The Scherzo is played at a pleasant Allegro pace and sounds conventional for the most part, with only some slightly weighty bass in some passages to differentiate it a bit.  The funeral march never really achieves a large scale sound, but it does sound intense and a bit nervous, recalling (or predicting) Seymour Lipkin's style a bit.  The sonata ends with a beefy, energetic Allegro.  Good stuff.  81a opens with a slightly brisk and somewhat cool, or at least uninvolving, Adagio.  The Andante fares a bit better, but only in the louder sections.  The Vivacissimamente, unsurprisingly, fares best, with plenty of energy, and a few nice touches, including some light, playful right hand playing in a few passages that almost sound gleefully (scherzo-ly) delicate.  Decent.  The disc closes with Op 90.  The opening movement is tense and biting when it should be, to excellent overall effect.  This is no light, ethereal reading.  The second movement, while not unattractive, doesn't sound lyrical enough.  A decent performance from a decent disc.

Disc 6 opens with Op 7, and Benz takes the opening at a swift tempo, and he plays it light until the climaxes, when he cranks up the power.  The close sound has what sounds like artificially enhanced bass, though it could just be a result of the recording technique.  The loudest passages tend to sound a bit congested, too.  The Largo is suitably slow, though part of that comes from tactical pauses.  The playing becomes episodic as Benz alternates between slow, thoughtful quieter music, and loud, louder, loudest louder passages.  Both types of playing often display stiff left hand playing.  The Allegro is decent, but the growly bass sounds too indistinct.  The Rondo sounds weighty in the outer sections, and the middle section has more indistinct bass married to slightly harsh right hand playing.  Not bad, but not more than OK.  The mighty 106 follows.  Benz plays the Allegro in just over ten minutes.  The playing never sounds strained, but at times it does sound congested.  While there are exciting moments during the movement, it does not hold one's attention well.  The Scherzo offers more of the same.  Benz plays the Adagio fast, bringing the movement in at under sixteen minutes, yet it doesn't really have much of sense of urgency or intensity or depth.  It just sounds fast.  The final movement starts off with a slow Largo and moves into a fast Allegro risoluto, but rather like the opening movement, it just doesn't hold one's attention.  An OK disc.

Disc 7 opens with 14/1.  Benz plays each movement with enough character, and the overall feel is light, with crisp but not overbearing staccato, and a nice rhythmic drive.  Op 22 follows.  Benz's style works well in this work.  The opening Allegro con brio has plenty of energy and forward drive, and is well articulated.  The Adagio, here much more of an Allegretto, stays light and crisp.  Benz ratchets up the intensity a bit in the Minuetto, but he doesn't push things too far, and he plays the Rondo with impressive drive, and plays with nice weight, though the bass sounds a bit indistinct in a fair number of passages.  Very nice.  A highlight of the set.  Op 28 is next.  Benz starts off playing relatively lyrical, plays the runs with fine dexterity and precision, and gradually builds up tension during the loudest passages, and his right hand playing takes on a not unappealing hardness.  Benz plays the Andante quick in the outer sections, and in the middle section the playing becomes a bit hard in forte passages, but it stays just on the good side of banging.  Benz plays the outer sections of the Scherzo with some bite that might, just might, cross to the bad side of banging, but then it also might just sound pleasingly hard.  Whatever the case, the middle section ends up sounding lighter as a result.  Benz returns to an at least somewhat lyrical style, but he also holds nothing back in the climax of the middle section, pounding out the music with no restraint but excellent control, and he plays the coda in a similarly potent manner.  Good stuff.  49/1 closes the disc.  Benz adds hints of edge to some of the playing, but otherwise treats the work as the light, charming piece it is.  A very good disc.

Disc 8 opens with 10/3.  The overall timing of under 21' promised fast playing, and sure enough, Benz comes flying out of the gate, with an almost breathless Presto.  The playing sounds a bit congested at times in forte passages, but the movement is undoubtedly exciting.  The very Andante-esque Largo is of the tense, terse variety right from the start, and Benz never lets up.  He builds up intensity most effectively in loud passages and creates a sense of drama, though one reined in by iron fists.  The Menuetto keeps the fast and potent playing going, as does the almost Pienaar-nutso fast (at least at times) Rondo.  It would be hard to call the playing at all subtle, but it is easy to call it entertaining.  Definitely one of the best recordings of the cycle.  Fast and intense playing also (mis-) characterizes the opening movement of 49/2, but Benz softens up a bit in the second movement.  Not bad.  Op 54 follows.  The first theme is more pointed than normal, and the second theme is, not surprisingly at this point, hammered out, though Benz keeps everything in perfect control.  The second movement, also not surprisingly, is played fast, and the speed and intensity picks up as the piece progresses, as it should, and it works very well indeed.  The disc closes with Op 57.  By this point, I expected fast playing, plenty of potent sforzandi, and plenty of clean staccato.  That's what Benz delivers in the Allegro assai.  As recorded, Benz doesn't deliver the most massive scale or weight of versions I've heard.  Rather, his take comes across as more of a middle-weight reading, somewhat like Seymour Lipkin, but with better control, and not as gruff.  (That gruffness makes Lipkin's performance better.)  The Andante cools things off nicely and sounds comparatively lyrical, and serves as a nice rest of sorts before the Allegro ma non troppo, which starts in tense but not unleashed fashion, and only slowly builds up tension until around a minute twenty, where Benz ratchets up intensity, though even then he doesn't let loose.  Rather, he keeps things taut and tense throughout, only really releasing tension in the build to and finally in the coda.  It's not the best performance, but it is an excellent one.  Easily the best disc of the cycle.

The final disc opens with the first sonata.  Benz plays the Allegro in his customary manner, and here that works just splendidly.  The right hand sforzandi sound plenty zesty.  Benz goes for the fast, tense slow movement approach in the Adagio, and here it succeeds.  The Menuetto sounds conventional, though here that is no criticism, and the Prestissimo is fast and almost furious and reasonably clear, with some tangy right hand playing.  Nice.  Next up, Op 31/1.  Benz plays the opening Allegro with plenty of energy, but it also sounds relentless and almost rigid.  The Adagio is most notable for its extreme speed, which, it must be said, lends a comic sound to the music.  The middle section is faster yet, with nervous energy in the repeated left hand chords.  The effect rather grates after a short while.  The Rondo again possesses nice energy, but there's a relentlessness to the playing that just doesn't click for me.  That means only one really excellent Op 31 sonata, which means this cannot be a great cycle.  The cycle ends with Op 111.  Benz starts off with a bright, intense, potent Maestoso, growls during the transition to the Allegro, which is weighty, pointed, and fast-ish.  A satisfying, middle period sounding opener.  The Arietta starts off comparatively calm and lovely, and cools down in the second half, until Benz decides to hammer out the end in transition to the first variation, which reverts to the calmer style of most of the Arietta.  Benz plays the second variation more intensely than many others, which leads to a quick, hard boogie woogie variation.  The little stars sound downright unpleasant.  No mystery.  No beauty.  No atmosphere.  The chains of trills fare a bit better, but end up sounding like part of a study rather than late Beethoven, and the coda sounds flat, not Elysian, not really anything else.  Not a favorite.  The disc is 1/3rd good.

That sort of sums up the cycle.  There are definitely some very good sonatas, but most are really nothing special.  Some are unpleasant.  Some are ho-hum.  In other words, it's an uneven cycle.  Even the sound quality is uneven.  Benz's style kept calling to mind Alexis Weissenberg or, in the context of Beethoven sonatas, Seymour Lipkin.  But where Weissenberg can manhandle music in a way that can sound awesome, Benz, in this cycle, generally does not.  He just manhandles the music.  Benz also can sound gruff or close to it, but he doesn't turn that to his advantage like Lipkin, who can and does make a virtue of that style.  Overall, this cycle is not a favorite of mine, and I would probably place it in my fourth tier, or third if I am feeling generous.  That written, as usual, I was ultimately glad to hear it.